Device for assorting long stemmed cherries from short stemmed cherries



Feb. 9, 1954 P. WORMSER ET AL 2,668,619

DEVICE FOR ASSORTING LONG STEMMED CHERRIES FROM SHORT STEMMED CHERRIES 8 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 17, 1950 INVENTOR. PAUL 14/02/1416. 0AV/0 4140/2/0 70am. Mns/vr Arron/var Feb. 9, 1954 P. WORMSER ET AL DEVICE FOR ASSORTING LONG STEMMED CHERRIES FROM SHORT STEMMED CHERRIES 8 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 17, 1950 i II Em A

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DEVICE FOR A SSORTING LONG STEMMEID CHERRIES Filed April 17, 1950 FROM SHORT STEMMED CHERRIES 8 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR. PAUL WOflMfL DAV/D M/lD/L/D 1705/0. earn/r Arm/may 1954. P. WORMSER ET AL 2,668,619

DEVICE FOR ASSORTING LONG STEMMED CHERRIES FROM SHORT STEMMED CHERRIES Filed April 17. 1950 8 Sheets-Sheet 4 IN V EN TOR. P/lZ/l. W02 M162, D/IV/D M40. /D

[45/52, 5547 JII'JAMEV Feb. 9, 1954 P. WORMSER ET AL DEVICE FOR ASSORTING LONG STEMMED CHERRIES FROM SHORT STEMMED CHERRIES Filed April 17, 1950 8 Shee ts-Sheet 5 v'lfl'llibqiqilllll ii'iil ii ii.

Feb. 9, 1954 P. WORMSER ET AL DEVICE FOR ASSORTING LONG STEMMED CHERRIES FROM SHORT STEMMED CHERRIES 8 Sheets-Sheet 6 Filed April 17. 1950 \m m w w E HEM/1460 INVENTOR. PAL/L Wold/I64 DAV/0 MAMA/0 BY mam Anem- Arron/var 8 Sheets-Sheet 7 P. WORMSER ET AL DEVICE FOR ASSORTING LONG STEMMED CHERRIES FROM SHORT STEMMEID CHERRIES Feb. 9, 1954 Filed April 17, 1950 /& AI Vifib .ViliEF :I iLi: FPL um INVENTORJ PAUL WOAMf/J. DAV/0 M402 /0 BY five/n. ara/r lrraqqqer Feb.'9, 1954 P WORMSER- ET AL 2,668,619

DEVICE FOR A SSORTING LONG STEMMED CHERRIES FROM SHORT STEMMED CHERRIES Filed April 17, 1950 8 Sheets-Sheet 8 file/0. hravrArraAI/Er Patented Feb. 9, 1954 DEVICE FOR ASSORTING LONG STEMMED CHERRIES CHERRIES FROM SHORT STEMMED Paul Wormser and David Madrid, San Francisco, Calif., assignors to S & W Fine Foods, Inc., San Francisco, Calif., a corporation of California Application April 17, 1950, Serial No. 156,256

2 Claims.

The present invention relates to machines for removing stems from fruit and is particularly adapted for removing stems from fruit such as cherries, for example.

While many devices of various types have been in use for removing stems from fruit such as cherries, for example, most of these devices operate on a probability basis so that constant inspection of the output is necessary to remove therefrom fruit that has not been stemmed. Furthermore, another disadvantage of many of the presently known types of stemming machines is that fruit with stems shorter than normal are not stemmed. In consequence, such unstemmed fruit has to be manually removed from the output of the machine.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a fruit stemming device wherein substantially all fruit passed to the output of the device is properly stemmed.

It is another object of the invention to provide a fruit stemmer in which the majority of fruit with short stems that cannot be removed by the stemming action of the machine are automatically separated from the properly stemmed fruit output of the device.

It is still another object of the invention to provide a fruit stemmer that will operate properly to stem batches of fruit having a wide variation in the diameter of the fruit.

Among additonal objects of the invention are:

To provide a simple and rapid means and method of stemming fruit such as cherries and plums, for example;

To provide a means and method of stemming fruit with a minimum of improperly stemmed fruit in the output thereof, thereby greatly reducing the amount of output inspection required;

To provide a simple fruit stemmer in which fruit damage is negligible;

To provide a fruit stemmer operated on a positive rather than a. probabilitystemming basis;

To provide a fruit stemmer capable of high speed operation; and

To provide a fruit stemmer that is readily adjustable for fruit of different average diameters.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be readily understood by reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a side View of one form of fruit stemmer suitable for processing cherries, embodying the present invention.

Figure 2 is a top plan view, partly cut away, of the machine of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a longitudinal, vertical sectional view of a portion of the carrier used in the device of Figure 1, while said carrier is horizontal.

Figure 4 is a view similar to Figure 3, showing :he carrier as it rises past a fruit separation posiion.

Figure 5 is a plan view looking toward the carrier as shown in Figure 4, taken as indicated by arrow 5, in Figure 4, the support for the separation comb being partly cut away.

Figure 6 is a side view of a stemmer embodying a modification of the present invention, using a double carrier.

Figure 7 is a longitudinal vertical sectional view of the carriers of the device shown in Figure 6, taken in the horizontal part of the carrier path.

Figure 8 is a view similar to Figure 4 showing the upper carrier of Figures 6 and '7 as it rises past the fruit separation position.

Figure 9 is a plan view, partly cut away, viewed as indicated by arrow 9 in Figure 8.

Figure 10 is a longitudinal vertical sectional view of an alternate form of double carrier operable on the frame of the machine of Figure 6.

Figure 11 is a side view of the fruit separation end of a machine using the double carrier shown in Figure 10.

Figure 12 is a longitudinal sectional view of a machine having an inclined carrier belt.

Figure 13 is a top plan view, partly cut away, of the machine of Figure 12.

Figure 14 is a side view, partly in section, of a separation roller having flexible teeth.

One preferred embodiment of the present invention is shown in Figures 1 to 5, inclusive, which will be first referred to.

As best shown in Figures 1 and 2, the stemming machine is mounted on a horizontal frame I supported from a foundation member 2 by upright frame legs 3. At one end of the machine, legs 3 are extended upwardly beyond frame i to form opposite supports for separation drum shaft bearings 4 rotatably holding a separation drum shaft 5 in a horizontal position. A separation drum 6 is mounted on separation drum shaft 5.

At the other end of the machine frame legs 3 are similarly extended upwardly to support opposite carrier drum bearings I in which is journalled a carrier drum shaft 8 supporting a carrier drum 9 also rotatable on a horizontal axis. Preferably, carrier drum bearings are adjustable longitudinally by hearing adjustment means l0.

Drums 6 and 9 are preferably alike in diameter and are aligned to form pulleys for an endless carrier belt. ll having a lower horizontal path.

adjustable longitudinally on frame E5 to main-:

tain proper chain tension. Spaced immediately below the carrier belt I I and following the lower horizontal path thereof, is a slide plate IaI'this plate being supported by four adjustment screws I9, one on each frame leg 3. By the use of the adjustment screws I9 slide plate i! can be posi tioned a predetermined distance below the carrier belt, and be made parallel thereto.

The carrier belt is provided with rows of apery tures 22, these apertures preferably being aligned lengthwise and crosswise of the carrierbelt. As the apertures are to be used to receive fruit bodies, their diamet'ershould be sufficient to permit passage of substantially allof the fruit "in a roughly graded'lot. Similarly, the slide plate I? positioned below the carrier belt a 'sumcien't distance so that substantially all of the fruit bodies in a roughly graded fruit lot entering the apertures will rest on theslide plate, II with the uppersurface of the fruit at or just below the upper surface of the carrier belt.

Fruit, with their stems on, are loaded onto the top surface of the carrier belt I I near the carrier 'ar'um 9 through a chute 2-5 entering between the upper and lower horizontal carrier beltportions from the side, this chute rising upwardly at the upperpmion'of the carrier belt to terminate in 'ah5pper'26 supplied with fruit as from a delivfeiybelt '21. The lower end of chute 2%; is flared across the carrier belt and 'is supplied with ridges 29 and lower partitions 30 to distribute the fruit a's'uhiforinly'a's possible across'the beltin positions to readily enter the apertures 22. This ar ran ement is best shown in Figure 2.

I The, carrier is pr'o'gr'ssed so that the lower horizontal portion thereof moves from the carfrierdrum 9 'to'ward'th'e separation drum '5, and just'prior to'fruit reaching the separation drum .6 a horizontal loading brush 3i is'prcviuea'extending "across the. 'carrier'b elt 'II and supported by brushbracket's32 erected at the sides of the machihe'fromframei. This brush BI is rotated by gears 34 rotated by s'ep'aration' drum shaft 5, by an intermediate chained and finally by a brush chain 313, all arranged at *one side of the machine. intermediate chamfse "drives 1 brush chain 3 6 through t'wopulleys 3'! connected to a worm shaft 31a. Brush 3-] is rotated, with the lower bristles thereof preferably inc'ontact with the upper surface of the lower horizontal pom tion of the carrier belt, and moving in a direction opposite to the motion of'the carrier. The brush -3'I sweeps fruit backward that has notentered apertures 22 so that they will havetime to do so, and further provides a sweeping action on stems 38 of the fruit that have already entered the apertures, so that these stems in general extend rearwardly on the carrier.

'As the fruit passesfrom under the brush- 3 the carrier-beltstarts topass around separation drum *6, and the-stenis 38of=-the fruit in the apertures, now projecting above the top surface of the carrierbelt II, and, when of normal length, projecting beyond the edges of the apertures 22, are caughapinc'hed and securely "gripped between the periphery or the separation drum 6 and the carrier belt II surface. As-soon as the stems 38 are sogripped, lower "slide pl'atei I terminates its position adjacent the carrier belt and then may be provided with a downturned lip 39 to direct fruit whose stems, if any are not gripped by drum 6 and carrier belt I I contact into reject chute 40.

As the fruit whose stems 38 are gripped move upwardly, they pass the inner edge of an output baffle 4| and then rise to a separation position S.

At separation position S the fruit is separated from the gripped stems by a comb 42, as best shown Figures 4 and 5.

Prior tode'scr'ibing the comb d2, Figure 3 will be referred to showing generally the size relationships of fruit carrier.

As above described, the fruit passes through the apertures 22 to rest on the slide plate I! with the upper surface of the fruit below the top surface ofthe carrier belt, as shown by fruit body F in Figure 3. In this position, the fruit is carried along by the push of the sides of the apertures 22, while slidably resting on slide plate II. To prevent smaller fruit from beco'm-ing wedged between the lower surface of the carrier belt II and the upper surface of the slide plate II, the carrier belt 5! should preferably be thick enough to reach below the horizontal equator of the smallest fruit in the lot being processed. When the belt is thickened to this extent, many of the fruit being processed will not project any great distance beyond the -'outer surface of the carrier belt II a't'the separation position S. In consequence, many fruit bodies would not be separated from their gripped stems if only a separation bar at the outer surface of the carrier belt II were "to be positioned at separation position S to intercept the fruit bodies as they pass the separation position.

In consequence, we prefer, when thick carrier belts are used, to provide a pair of grooves '44 on the outer surface 45 of the carrier belt, these grooves being positioned parallel to the direction of motion of the'carrier belt'along each longitudinal row of apertures, with'one groove on each side of aperture-centers but inside the lateral edges of the aperture 22 as best shown in Figure 5. Grooves Mextencl almost to the opposite side of the carrier belt, leaving only sufficient belt material to insure'adequate belt strength.

At the separation position comb 42 comprises a comb bar '46 having a lower edge 41 closely adjacent the outer surface 45 of the carrier belt, this bar carrying pairs of comb teeth 49, one tooth of each'pair entering the grooves 44 associated with one-row of apertures, Comb teeth is slope downwardly and forwardly to the bottoms of the grooves thereby passing under and providing an outward motion of the fruit body, either removin the fruit body directly from the gripped stem or moving the fruit body outwardly so that it will be'intercepted by the comb bar 46 and removed from the grippedstem.

After the fruit bodies are removed from the gripped stems, the 'stern's'38 continue around the separation drum, and when the carrier belt separates from the separation drum at the top thereof, as shown in Figure 1, the stems are intercepted by a drum scraper 5!] bearing on "the separation drum'B, and by a belt scraper 5| bearing against the inner surface of thecarrier belt I I, thereby directingthe stem into a stem trough 52 extending acrossthe machine. Stems can-be removed from this trough 'by a worrn ii l driven by the worm shaftiilw'rotated by pulleys 31. Stems 38 are carried to one side of 'themachine by the worm 54 an'd allowed to fall into-astem collector 55. If desired, water sprays can be used to facilitate stem collection.

With the machine as above described stemming i continuous and fast. The output is relatively clean for several reasons. First, all fruit having stems short enough so that they cannot be gripped as the carrier belt contacts the separation drum do not enter the output of the machine, as such fruit will fall out of the apertures by gravity when the support by the slide plate I? ceases, and will fall into the reject chute 40. Any fruit whose stem is not gripped will also fall into the reject chute. Properly stemmed fruit cannot get into the reject chute 40 because of the output bafiie 4|. In consequence, the only type of improperly stemmed fruit that can get into the stemmed fruit output of the machine are a few fruit whose stems are just long enough to be caught sufiiciently between the carrier belt and the separation drum 6 to be carried around the drum, but which are not gripped suificiently to withstand separation pressure without the stem pulling out from between the carrier belt and the separation drum. Such fruit with a short length of stem thereon would normally get into the output of the machine. However, we have found that in certain types of fruitv the number of such fruit can be significantly reduced by the use of a flexible edge portion 56 on bafiie dI so that a pressure less than that required for stem separation is applied to the fruit as they pass upwardly toward the separation position S. Such pressure is suificient to dislodge manyof the fruit whose short stems are just barely pinched, but does not affect fruit with long stems properly pinched. The dislodged fruit enters the reject chute and does not reach the output of the machine.

The stemmer as just above described is relatively simple, and is highly satisfactory for use with fruit that has relatively uniform diameters and that has securely fastened in the fruit. When, however, the fruit varies considerably in diameter so that a distinct possibility exists of small fruit becoming wedged between the carrier belt it and the slide plate 51, we prefer to utilize a modification of our invention as shown in Figures 6 to 9, inclusive.

In this case, the carrier belt Ila is formed, mounted and operated in exactly the same manner as the carrier belt of Figure 1 and in the side View of Figure 6, all similar parts of the machine have been given the same numbers as used on the parts of the machine of Figures l-5, inclusive, The only difference is that the carrier belt Na in the machine of Figures 6 to 9, inclusive, is much thinner than the carrier belt II in the machine of Figures 1 to 5, inclusive, and that the separation device is slightly difierent, as will be fully described later. The main difference in the two machines is the means for supporting the fruit bodies in the carrier belt apertures.

Referring to Figures 6 and '7, a support belt 51 is mounted on fore and aft support drums 59 and 68, respectively, to position the upper rim bi thereof immediately below and parallel to the lower rim of the carrier belt I Ia in the same position occupied by the slide plate I! of the machine of Figures 1-5, inclusive. Both upper and lower belts are tightened to maintain the belts substantially horizontal as by bearing adjustment means It! for the carrier belt, and lower tightening adjustment t2 for the support belt 5'1, the latter adjustment operating on the bearings 64 for the fore support drum 59. As was the slide plate I1,

the support belt is vertically adjustable asby vertical adjustment screws 65 and 66 operating one fore a'ncl aft support drum bearings 64 and fi let-respectively. Normally, belts Na and 51 can be tightened sufiiciently to prevent significant sag, but if desired belt support bars (not shown) can be used under both belts Ila and 51.

Support belt 51 is driven in the same direction as the carrier belt Hat by a connecting belt 6'! driving the fore drum 59 of the support belt sys tem from the carrier drum 9 immediately above. To permit vertical adjustment of the support belt 5?, an idler pulley 69 is provided for the connecting belt (El. At the separation end of the machine, aft support drum 60 is positioned directly below separation drum 6 so that the support belt 51 passes downwardly around the aft support drum 60 as the carrier belt Lla passes upwardly around the separation drum 6.

Preferred dimensional relationships between the carrier and support belts and the fruit is shown in Figure '7 where both the carrier belt Ila and the support belt 57 are relatively thin and where th two belts are spaced so that small fruit for example may have their upper surface level with or even below the carrier belt. As we prefer to progress both belts in the same direction there is no tendency for small fruit to become wedged between upper and lower belts. Thus, by making apertures 22 of the general diameter of the largest fruit in the lot, with a similar distance between the upper surfaces of the two belts, fruit of widely varying diameters can be successfully loaded into the apertures and successfully transported therein. In order to throw the stems rearwardly, we prefer to progress the support belt at a slightly faster rate than the carrier belt.

As in the machine of Figures 1-5, inclusive, fruit with stems on are loaded onto the carrier belt I la through the chute 25 and hopper 26.

Loading brush 3i case they tend to stay as swept, because there is: no relative movement between the carrier and support belts. As the projecting stems of the fruit in the apertures are gripped between the carrier belt I la and the separation drum 6, the support belt 51 terminates fruit support by turning downwardly over the aft support drum 60 and all fruit whose stems are not gripped fall into reject chute 40 guided by a support belt scraper I9 bearing against the support belt after it has passed about one-fourth way around the aft support drum 60. In addition, any fruit or pieces thereof or other trash that might have entered apertures 22 in the carrier belt to be trapped between the two belts will be carried to the reject chute by the motion of the support belts 5?. Thus the machine of Figures 6 to 9, inclusive, is self-cleaning.

Fruit that are carried upwardly around separation drum 8 first pass output baffle 4| and then approach the separation position S. As the carrier belt in this modification can be very thin, no comb is needed for separation of the fruit from the stems, and a stationary separation bar II extending across the carrier belt Ila at the separation position S has been found sufficient for effective separation, as even the smallest fruit liable to be properly loaded, gripped and carried to the separation position S will be intercepted by the separation bar II, the active edge of which is, of course, close to the outer surface ofv loads them individually through the apertures 22 on the carrier belt I Ia torest on the support belt 51. The brush 3I sweeps; the stems backward from th aperture and in this;

ste m the carrier-belt, as best shown Pigures S 9-.

Thus, while the machine of Figures 6-9, inclusive is somewhat more complicated than the simple device of Figures 1-5, inclusive, it possesses numerous compensating advantages, as outlined just above.

The fruit bodies can be still further stabilized while being loaded and progressed by using a support belt modification as shown in Figures 1'9 and 11. Here lower support belt 51a is modified by being made relatively thick, with fruit body recesses 15 therein spaced and arranged to coincide with apertures 22 on the carrier belt lla to form in effect a composite fruit body receiving receptacle. To maintain the coincidence of apertures 22 and recesses 15', the carrier belt 'H-a and the recessed support belt 51w are progressed in exact synchronism. The two belts are arranged in the same manner as the belts in the device of Figures 5-9, inclusive, and the separation system is the same, as shown in Figure ll. The main difference in the two machines, except for the construction of the lower belt 51ais-that we prefer to use a water spray l6 directed against the recesses 15 after they have passed about one-fourth of the way around the aft support drum 8:1 toinsure the removal of trash from the: recesses, as in this casesubstantially all trash will be carried in therecesses. The machine of Figures 10' and 11, mounted as shown in Figure 6', for example, is preferred where maximum stem ming effectiveness is desired of fruit differing widely in size; This modification, however, is the most complicated of the machines described herein in that substantially exact synchronism of carrier and supportbelts must be maintained, requiring non-stretchable belt material, exact layout design and synchronous drive. However, for certain types of fruit, the machine of" Figures :10 and 11 will be foundthe most satisfactory.

Various modifications of the machines abovedescribed can be made to suit special conditions if desired. Several such modifications are-shown. in Figures 12-, 13; and-1'4.

For example, i f'wide carriers and/or high car rierspeeds are used it may be desirable. to pro-- vide a lower idler drum lot on one end of the machine below the carrierdrum 9, in order topro vide greater space for fruit loading between carrier belt I l a and the supportbelt 51: for easy load'- ing of the carrier belt; as shown best Figureitz; showing a support belt type of machine.

In this case we may desire to mount motor l4 on an overhead: frame llll at the separation drum end of the machine and drive the-separat tion drum 6 by a separation drum chain 1'02. Support belt 51- 'is driven through gears 1-03. and a support belt chain F030;, while loading brush. 3| is driven by a loading brush chain I 06 from the lower of gears I83. A rotating separation roller H0, later to be described, may also be driven by a roller chain lot from the'separati'cn drum. As in the case of thesupport beltmachine shown in Figures 6. and 7 we prefer to drive the support belt El -at a slightly higher rate of speed thanthecarrierbelt, and the same direction. The fruit can then be loaded ontathe. carrierbelt H bya belt conveyor l llii extending laterally across the carrier belt between the and lower carrier belt paths. A diagonakscraper till may be used to. forcethe fruition the belt. conveyor ms. onto. the upwardly rising carrier belt surface. The tumbling: of fruitxon. the; inclined carrier belt aids in filling 'theapertures.

fruit.

Cherries-picked late in the growing season tend to have their stems less tightly held by the fruit, and instances can arise where a substantial percentage of stems are removed from the fruit by the action of loading brush 3i. When this occurs is "desirable to remove output bafiie 41 so that the fm'it destemmed by the loading brush 3! can pass into a useful cutput'c'hute 1 08. While some fruit having stems thereon will in this way pass the output of the machine, this disadvantage may' well be overcome when a large percentage of fruit is destemmed by the loading brush b 7 Some. lots of fruitare relatively large and may be sufficiently soft so that contact with a solid stem removing; e1ement,s.uch as comb '42 or sta tionary separation bar ll, may bruise the fruit; We therefore may desire to replace these latter two devices by a rotating separation roller i It having flexible teeth Hi thereon as best shown in Figure 14. Thisrtiher may be made of natural or synthetic rubber or similar substance, and teeth l-ll maybe of various flexibility, as, may be necessary under the circumstances. Roller Hd is driven to revolve the teeth in the opposite direction to the motion of the carrier belt at the separation position S.

It has also been found that in some instances the fruit stems are relatively brittle, causing some stems to break off they are forced against the outer edge of the apertures 22- as, for example, would happen when separation bar It contacted the fruit approaching the separation bar in Fig,- ure =8. This sharp edge has been found, to break brittle stem occasionally so we may prefer to chamfer, bevel, or round the outer edges of theapertures'as best s'hown'at H2 in Figure 14.

While we may prefer to use the modifications show-n in Figures 12, 13, and 14, in special cases, we do not desire to be limited to such use but maydesire to utilize such devices in conjunction with any of the other apparatus arrangements previously described regardless of the particular type of fruit being processed.

All of the machines described herein are fast and accurate stemmers of fruit whose stems are sufiiciently long to be gripped as described, and while the machines have been described as suitablefor use in stemming cherries, similar long stemmed fruit such as plums, for example, can:

be likewise stemmed when the apertures and spacings are designed for proper fruit size, as taught herein.

It is to be noted that long stemmed fruit such as cherries often include clusters. where the stems from a plurality of fruit ar joined. The ma.- chines, embodying the, present invention have. been described without provision for separating the fruit from such clusters, as manydevices are known in the art tor such purpose and such a device is no. part oi thepresent invention. As long :as fruitv with single stems thereon are; availablein, front of loading brush 31, the machines operateI emciently as described and, if desired. declu-stering may; bev provided in a separate device withdeclustered fruit delivered to the ma.- chine from delivery b elt: 21-1..

From thev above description i-t'wiil-l be appareent, that: there is thus provided a device of the character described possessing the particular features of advantage before enumerated as desir-- abl'e,..but which obviously'is susceptible of medi fication inits'f'orm, proportions, detail" oonstrum tion arrangement of part -without-1depart- 9 ing from the principle involved or sacrificing any of its advantages.

While, in order to comply with the statute, the

invention has been described in languag more or less specific as to structural features, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the specific features shown, but that the means and construction herein disclosed comprise the preferred form of several modes of putting the invention into effect, and the invention is, therefore, claimed in any of its forms or modifications within the legitimate and valid scop of the appended claims.

We claim:

1. In a fruit processing machine wherein stemmed fruit is progressed by a carrier having a substantially horizontal path while each fruit is in a carrier recess having a separable substantially horizontal bottom with the normal stems of said fruit projecting upwardly out of said recess, and wherein said carrier passes upwardly around a drum to cause th projecting normal stems of said fruit to be gripped and to separate the carrier recesses from said bottom, the improvement comprising a barrier having an edge positioned adjacent the lower surface or said carrier as said carrier progresses upwardly away from said bottom, said edge being spaced from said lower surface sufficiently to permit fruit held by the stems thereof to pass said edge, and means above said barrier to separate fruit held by the stems thereof from the gripped stems, whereby fruit with abnormally short stems that are not gripped fall out of said recesses by gravity below said barrier and whereby fruit separated above the barrier from the gripped stems will be separated by said barrier from the short stemmed fruit leaving said carrier below said barrier.

2. In a fruit processing machine wherein stemmed fruit is progressed by a carrier having a substantially horizontal path while each fruit is in a carrier recess having a separable substantially horizontal bottom with the normal stems of said fruit projecting upwardly out of said recess, and. wherein said carrier passes upwardly around a drum to cause the projecting normal stems of said fruit to be gripped and to separate the carrier recesses from said bottom, the improvement comprising a barrier having an edge portion of flexible material positioned adjacent the lower surface of said carrier as said carrier progresses upwardly away from said bottom, and means above said barrier to separate fruit held by the stems thereof from the gripped stems, whereby fruit with abnormally short stems that are not gripped fall out of said recesses by gravity below said barrier and whereby fruit separated above the barrier from the gripped stems will be separated by said barrier from short stemmed fruit leaving said carrier below said barrier.

PAUL WORMSER. DAVID MADRID.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,076,794 Smith Oct. 28, 1913 1,409,802 Urschel Mar. 14, 1922 1,409,803 Urschel Mar. 14, 1922 1,409,804 Urschel Mar. 14, 1922 1,734,788 Babcock Nov. 5, 1929 2,114,727 Thys Apr. 19, 1938 2,194,058 Urschel Mar. 19, 1940 2,243,530 Kok May 27, 1941 2,318,805 Silva May 11, 1943 2,358,500 Frova Sept. 19, 1944 2,360,412 Frova Oct. 17, 1944 2,361,834 Frova Oct. 31, 1944 2,415,418 Coons Feb. 11, 1947 2,462,682 Schubert Feb. 22, 1949 2,558,205 Ashlock June 26, 1951 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 446,505 France Jan. 1, 1912 392,110 Germany Mar. 15, 1924 631,894 France Dec. 28, 1927 819,314 France July 5, 1937 

